Celebrating Ten Years of Running: On Perseverance and Finish Lines

As I edit "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953," I am in awe of how many finish lines I've been blessed to cross and how each one brings with it a distinct memory.

The first finish line I ever crossed was in June 2008. It was a hot day and I hadn't run for more than 40 minutes at a time in my training program on the road to the Boston Marathon. I had no idea what the sport of running and especially racing was all about. I received a wonderful joy filled albeit challenging introduction to my first 5K race. We took this photo back at the car:


The Marathon Sports 5 Miler tested my mettle. I didn't think I was going to finish the race. It was a highly competitive, hot, evening race. We finished dead last and were celebrated as though I broke the tape. Here's a photo of us at the back of the pack winding our way through the back roads with the sweep truck behind us:


My first half marathon was the 2009 Hyannis Half. While I don't have any finish line photos, I slogged through 13.1 miles of cold and sleet to cross the finish line of my first half marathon race. My story was shared in the Cape Cod Times:

Mary McManus, 55, of Brookline completed her first half-marathon after making a remarkable recovery from a life-long battle against post-polio syndrome.

She spent time at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and began running just last February. She competed in her first race in June 2008, finishing a 5K.

“It’s like having a new lease on life,” said McManus, who ran yesterday’s half-marathon with husband Tom. “I was limping my way through life, but then decided to do something about it.”

My greatest finish was crossing the iconic Boston Marathon finish line:


I had to take time off to recover from Boston and there was a question mark about whether or not I would return to the roads given my body's history of paralytic polio and severe trauma. I transformed the question mark into a ....to be continued.

In June of 2010, Tom and I celebrated my comeback at the Charles River Run 5K:


Tom pushed me as we jingled all the way to a PR in the Jingle Bell 5K:


I persevered through elevation and heat to run my first trail race on Spectacle Island. What a spectacular finish for Team McManus:


I trash talked my way to a PR at the Bill Rodgers 5K Run/Walk to Benefit Prostate Cancer. What a celebration after I crossed that finish line:


While feeling the exhilaration of a PR is an incredible experience at the finish line, sometimes crossing that finish line is the manifestation of perseverance and endurance.

In December of 2014 I suffered a serious knee injury that the medical providers said would sideline me from running for the rest of my days. They said I never should have started running and that I should prepare for a total knee replacement in a few years. I turned to holistic healing with chiropractic care, and doubled down my efforts with all that I'd done to get me to that point in my journey harnessing the power of the mind/body connection.

Tom and I crossed the finish line of the 2015 Finish at the 50 5K that marked a new starting line for me:


I decided to go the distance again and signed on for the 2016 Bermuda Half Marathon:


Since I had a solid base of mileage and felt triumphant after Bermuda, Tom and I ran the 2016 Hyannis 10K. Smiles for miles as we crossed the finish line together:


Rather than be a "one hit wonder" I took on the challenge of the 2017 Bermuda Half Marathon. At mile 10 things went south for this runner girl but I would not quit. Although every step was a challenge and by mile 12 I could not straighten up, I put one foot in front of the other steadily moving forward to that finish line. An earth angel at mile 12, Jamie-Lee Wright and my husband supported me until I joyfully and triumphantly crossed that finish line:


I have had to dig deep to persevere through the miles on the roads and in my life working hard to overcome the ravages of childhood paralytic polio and trauma at the hands of family members. But the thrill of crossing that finish line makes all the hard work worth every ounce of blood, sweat and tears it took to get me there.

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.


Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running that tested her mettle while fueling her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: Redemption!

In December of 2006, I experienced the dark night of my mind, body and soul. My award winning career as a social worker at the VA no longer fueled my Spirit. I was at a crossroads in my life. My life force was withering away and manifested in the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine Standards. I got still, asked for Divine Guidance and the answers came through what became my divining rod for healing, my pen in the form of poetry. The first poem I wrote was called "Running the Race" despite being in a leg brace


using a cane and at times a wheelchair for mobility, and having been told I should prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. It foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon. I wrote poetry throughout my training that fueled my journey to run 26.2 miles on the road from Hopkinton to Boston. What a journey it was!

During an interview for Channel 7 news, I noted that after crossing the finish line it was a moment of celebration. It was a moment of redemption that here I was a polio survivor...I crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon.




At the book launch for Dave McGillivray and Nancy Feehrer's book, "Dream Big", Dave gave a powerful speech about his hope for how the book will inspire children to Dream Big. Dave was always the last pick in gym class (as was I) and he discovered the sport of running in his life. He wants children to know that they can overcome rejection and, through perseverance, feel success and self-confidence.

"When people used to ask me what I did for a living, I'd say Race Director. They'd say what do you do put a chalk line in the road, say on your mark, get set, go and then serve beef stew afterwards? Now I say I help raise the self-confidence and self-esteem of tens of thousands of people in America...." Paraphrasing, Dave went on to say how you have to have the guts to sign up for a marathon, put in the work, run the race and then you get a medal. You go home feeling good about yourself!



Coincidentally, Dave was the one to give us the oral command of "Runners take your mark. Get set. Go." at the mobility impaired runners start of the 2009 Boston Marathon.

I started running in April of 2008. With every mile I shed the image I had of myself as a woman who had suffered irreparable damage as a result of having contracted paralytic polio at the age of 5 and then beginning at the age of 8, enduring years of violence and neglect at the hands of family members. I was transformed into a woman who felt empowered with the strength that I had within me to have come through those years of horror and terror.

While there were many times when I wondered how many of the people who called me "Easy Out Alper" ran the Boston Marathon or 3 consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons in 3 years, the inner redemption and transformation I experienced during these past ten years of running has been the greatest gift in my life.



From my heart to yours,
To your health and wellness,
Mary

Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc.

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


Coming soon *** The Adventures of Runnergirl1953 ****

Bermuda Marathon Weekend: Which Place Changed Your Life?

I rarely do the Nametests on Facebook but thought I'd see what the response was when asked the question, "Which Place Changed Your Life?"



Of course it was Bermuda Marathon Weekend!

It was the miracle of training for and completing 3 Half Marathons in as many years for me and it was all the moments of miracles that led up to Team McManus' triumphant run around Bermuda.

When we were first reunited as Team McManus in May of 2017 after Ruth Anne's multiple hospitalizations to treat severe depression and PTSD with as many med trials, adverse reactions to meds and programs that were not a good fit, we had trouble finding our rhythm on the roads and in our lives. Ruth Anne had been on her own for 3 years struggling to find her way and Tom and I were empty nesters. We were all determined to experience success as Team McManus.

There was always one constant and an anchor for whatever was happening in Ruth Anne's road to recovery and my continued healing from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma: our dedication and commitment to training for the Bermuda Half Marathon!

We trained in heat and humidity and freezing cold. We learned that quitting was not part of who we are despite bone chilling 17 degree temperatures which felt like I don't even want to know how cold. We ran in the rain and the snow. Every Saturday morning without exception we set the alarm, did our core work, had our breakfast, packed up the running backpacks and off we went to get in our miles.

The left knee that the doctor predicted would need a total knee replacement by now after an MRI in January 2015, was fine throughout the rigors of training. Bone spurs, torn cartilage, degenerative changes, a fatty lipoma, and no gastroc muscle were all reversed through meditation, visualization, journaling and exercises prescribed by my chiropractor/healer, Dr. Ryan J. Means or Dr. Ryan as he likes to be called to build strength and grow a new gastroc muscle. Dr. Ryan introduced me to the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza that built on the work of Dr. Bernie Siegel for me that I'd been familiar with for years. Dr. Ryan inspired me to take my healing journey to a new level! He left for China to follow his own destiny but we continue to stay in touch. Whenever he visits the States we get together and he reminds me of the power of the body to heal.

I did develop a right hip/groin/back "issue" that was attended to by my chiropractor with whom I started working with in July and ongoing meditation, ice flushes in the shower, warm Epsom Salt baths and a "visit" from the physiatrist I had when I was recovering from paralytic polio as a child. I remembered how he would have me stretch my back to prevent scoliosis and after feeling his presence in the shower one morning, imagined how I felt with him encouraging my body to heal through his kind words, his touch and his encouraging words.

Once we finished our last long run, 12 miles, simulating race day, I knew that I could go the distance for a threepeat.

Returning to Bermuda with Ruth Anne was magical. The last time we had been on the Island together, I was using a wheelchair at the airport and sporting a toe up leg brace using a cane to gingerly walk from our hotel nor far from the center of Hamilton and back. I cried when we walked down the stairs on the tarmac and there was a wheelchair waiting for another passenger.

There were signs and magic everywhere on the Island.

The first evening we had dinner with Denise and Lanette at The Pickled Onion:


and of course were able to find Denise and Lanette pre-race:


Ruth Anne and I walked the beach together:


We had a sign that God and our dearly departed friend Herb Simmons who introduced us to Bermuda in the late 90's were watching over us at our first breakfast at Windows on the Sound:


Despite many fears leading up to race day about being able to trust my body, and the pain in my right hip/back/groin I knew that I could not give into them. Part of me felt that everybody would have understood if I would have chosen to not start the race BUT how could I miss out on all the fun that I worked so hard to achieve?

When we landed in Bermuda, Ruth Anne was moved to say out loud, "I made it! I'm not in the hospital!" We went through several "close calls" as we navigated outpatient mental health care but having her eye on the prize - getting to Bermuda to run the Half Marathon was potent medicine.

Ruth Anne, Tom and I discovered our strength, our will, our determination, our faith and above all else the power of our Love to train for and cross the finish line of the Bermuda Half Marathon 2018.

The Bermuda Half Marathon changed our life as did every step of every mile that got us to the starting line, through 13.1 miles and to crossing the finish line.





To your health and well being
From my heart to yours,
Mary

Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc.

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):

Going the Distance: Never Tell Me the Odds

The deck was stacked against me since I contracted polio at the age of 5 years old. Dropping to the ground with no warning in Kindergarten class on June 3, 1959 began the challenges I would have to face throughout my life. Three years later my father became alcoholic and 9 years of emotional, physical, sexual and spiritual assaults followed until his suicide when I was 17 years old. Ten years ago I was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine Standards.

My life in many ways has been like an adventure movie. I have battled evil, fought for my life, and take on incredible challenges like running the 2009 Boston Marathon against all odds shortly after coming out of a wheelchair and a leg brace and having been told that I would spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, or training for a threepeat of the Bermuda Half Marathon.

Every time that somebody told me I shouldn't or couldn't do something, I turned around and said, "Watch me now."

I'll be turning 64 years old on Christmas Day. As I realize that I've lived more of my life than I have yet to live, it's a wonderful time to take a look back at the incredible tapestry of my life.

The odds of becoming high school valedictorian after having contracted paralytic polio and fighting for my life every night were quite slim. The odds of being honored by Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit Honor Society at Boston College after needing 4 years to complete my MSW having suffered a 6 week hospital stay and having nearly lost the use of my right arm due to a misdiagnosed staph infection were quite slim. I was told I wouldn't/shouldn't/couldn't run again after a serious knee injury in December of 2014 yet here I am now training 5 days a week for a threepeat of the 2018 Bermuda Marathon Weekend. It takes dedication, hard work, perseverance, fierce determination to beat the odds. At times, it's a messy and uncertain journey that requires trusting The Force with all of my heart and soul.



And speaking of that pesky knee injury in December of 2014 ... I was told that my MRI indicated, among many other things, an atrophied gastroc muscle. "That's been atrophied since you had the polio," a doctor declared with great certainty. In a cavalier tone and gesture he went on to say, "You'll never get that back."

Never tell me the odds especially when blessed to find my way to a most remarkable chiropractor, Dr. Ryan J. Means who in an equal cavalier manner told me to set goals not limits. We decided that together we would grow a new gastroc muscle. With faith, KT tape,


visualization and gastroc strengthening exercises, we have indeed grown a new gastroc muscle!

Obstacles are a part of life. Battling the odds so that, much like in a Star Wars or Indiana Jones, integrity, goodness and The Force prevail is all a part of life's journey. At times in my life the odds were against me but I look beyond circumstances and the odds. So please never tell me the odds because I'll tell you this...I have and will continue to triumphantly beat them at every turn!

Go the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):

Celebrating 10 Years of Healing: On Hope, Faith and Momentum

From my memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility":

I didn’t know what needed healing or how that healing would happen. I only knew that I needed time and space away from the stress of getting up at 5:30 every morning, commuting into Boston, taking care of veterans and their families as well as the people on my team, and my own family members. I hold myself responsible for my inability to set limits. I feel tremendous compassion for myself that I was like a hamster in a wheel and had no idea how to get off of it within the VA system. I know many of my colleagues resented me for how much work I did do. I was held up as the standard for social workers when it came to ‘my numbers’ and documentation. There is the middle way of being able to find balance and self care while providing outstanding care to veterans and their families but I was damned if I knew how to get there at that time.

When I walked out of the VA on 5/25/2007, I did so on hope and a prayer. I had no idea what the future held for me. I had visualized, written poetry, kept a journal and imagined a wonderful life for myself but there was a big gap between where I was and where I wanted to go. I was in a leg brace, using a cane, a wrist splint. I needed to do chin tucks and dry swallows to avoid choking and aspirating food into my lungs when I ate. I experienced chronic pain and fatigue although was feeling much better than I had in December of 2006 when I could barely walk up and down the stairs in my house and experienced severe depression and anxiety. I would come to learn that the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome was a result of my body's inability to heal after contracting paralytic polio due to unrelenting child abuse and neglect and the trauma itself being trapped in my body!

I discovered the healing and transformational power of running in my life.

After running the 2009 Boston Marathon I had a relapse of symptoms. My cervical spine doctor, my master magician as I came to call Dr. El-Abd was so supportive helping me to heal my beaten up body after putting it through the rigors of marathon training without any base of athleticism. He referred me to a wonderful physical therapist who got me back on the roads by the summer of 2010.



And so it went - triumphs followed by trials and tribulations.

It was incredibly frustrating and quite discouraging to go through setback after setback. I had to dig deep especially when I was encountering body workers whose methods were supposed to help me heal but only exacerbated my symptoms. I was tested and veered off of my healing path in the wake of my nephew's suicide in March of 2011.

Yet still I persevered and battled on wondering how would I ever reclaim my life and run and live my life unencumbered and free?

The Boston Marathon bombings served as a wake up call.

And then the miracle happened!

I had a "chance" meeting in the most unusual of circumstances...Dr. Ryan J. Means - a chiropractor dedicated to releasing the body's natural capacity to heal through chiropractic care and the power of intention. He was so excited for the opportunity to work with me knowing where I'd been, how much I had accomplished but knowing I needed someone to go the distance with me. He told me about "You Are the Placebo" by Dr. Joe Dispenza and we got to work!

A month later, as I realized that the massage therapist I was working with at the time was causing more harm than healing, I put out the call to the Universe for a new massage therapist.

From "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance":
As he finished with a clearing of the energy, he placed his left hand on my right shoulder while he turned his body toward the door. He turned his head and gently looked down at me, “Okay Mary…take your time getting up. I left a hot towel for you if you’d like to use it….Please don’t rush. Take your time. Open the door a crack when you’re dressed.”

“How are you feeling?” Jeffrey asked me as he handed me a cold bottle of water as a wine steward presents a fine bottle of wine at the finest restaurant.

“Amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like that before.”

Jeffrey warmly smiled.

“I usually tremble – I have head tremors and body tremors but I was so still and felt so at ease with you.”

“I felt your stillness,” Jeffrey replied.

“I want you to run unencumbered,” Jeffrey said with his piercing blue eyes intently looking into mine. At the time I didn’t quite take in the enormity of what he had just said. He was setting an intention for our work together that I had set early on with my personal trainer and then wrote about in my poetry for the past several years.

“I’d like to work with you,” I said knowing that my life was about to dramatically change for the better.

I held onto hope as I fervently prayed and feverishly wrote poetry until I could get positive momentum on my journey to heal the effects of paralytic polio and trauma. Somehow, somewhere deep inside of me I kept the faith and I didn't stop in my quest to create a better life for myself. I've had no setbacks or injuries in these past two years since partnering with Jeffrey. Weekly muscular therapy sessions with him coupled with my determination to maintain positive momentum with meditation, keeping a journal and a five day a week workout regimen holds me in great stead in my health and wellness journey. I finally have the momentum I was thirsting and yearning for when I first set out on this odyssey ten years ago!

In my next blog, I'll be celebrating 10 years of healing reflecting on success and celebrating lifestyle changes!

To going the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


Mary McManus, MSW knew challenges since she was five years old beginning with contracting polio followed by enduring nine years of violence at the hands of family members. Those early challenges prepared her for taking on the challenge of the diagnosis of post polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease in December 2006 when she was at the height of her award winning career as a social worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Asking for Divine Guidance as she had throughout her trials and tribulations, she discovered the gift of poetry in her soul. Her first poem, “Running the Race,” foreshadowed her 2009 Boston Marathon run. “Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance,” chronicles Mary’s journey as a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma, as a runner and a woman who refused to quit. Eight years after her diagnosis, she was finally led to two healers, a chiropractor and a muscular therapist, who helped her reclaim her life and go the distance, a woman transformed who embodies the power of endurance.